Forrest Gump beat Pulp Fiction at the Oscars back in 1994, which is something that somebody will always tell you when you mention the name of the film, as though the Oscars are a reliable sign of quality. People used to like Forrest Gump, of course, but - in recent years - have turned against it, presumably because its standing as annoyingly sentimental and horribly contrived mainstream schlock has become more apparent. Or so we thought. Nope: people are still on Forrest Gump's side, a notion reinforced by the fact that it's sitting pretty at number 14 on the IMDb's Top 250. Enough people are willing to sing the praises of this Robert Zemeckis "masterpiece" that it's beat out other, better Robert Zemeckis films, like, oh, Back to the Future. We're not saying Forrest Gump is all bad: despite its flaws, it's hard to deny its inherently fluffy charms. But we're giving it way too much credit, guys.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
